This invention relates to an exterior handle assembly for a motor vehicle door.
A motor vehicle door typically includes a lock for securing the door closed and an exterior handle assembly linked to the lock for releasing the door from outside of the vehicle. The door lock usually includes a fork bolt which cooperates with a striker on the vehicle to secure the door closed and which releases the striker in response to pivotal movement of a release lever of the door lock. The exterior handle assembly commonly includes a handle pivotally supported on the door and linked to the door lock release lever by a push rod. When the handle is manually pivoted from a retracted position to an extended position, the push rod pivots the release lever to release the fork bolt so the door can be opened.
It has been known to mount a blocking lever of lesser inertia on the exterior handle which normally assumes an inactive position not interfering with pivotal movement the handle. At the onset of a side impact, however, the blocking lever pivots rapidly to an active position immobilizing the handle before the handle attains its extended position. In some applications, the blocking lever is a pendulum on the handle which is maintained by gravity in its inactive position. In other applications, a spring on the handle maintains the blocking lever in its inactive position.
This invention is an exterior handle assembly for a motor vehicle door including an escutcheon on a door outer panel, a handle including a horizontal hand grip and a pair of vertical arms supported on the escutcheon for pivotal movement about a horizontal first axis, and a multiplier lever supported on the escutcheon for pivotal movement about a horizontal second axis parallel to the first axis. The multiplier lever surrounds one of the vertical arms of the handle for concurrent pivotal movement therewith and is linked by a push rod to a release lever of a door lock on the door such that pivotal movement of the handle from a retracted position of the hand grip to an extended position of the hand grip releases a fork bolt in the door lock to release the door. The separation between the horizontal first and second axes amplifies the pivotal movement of the multiplier lever relative to the pivotal movement of the handle to minimize the angular interval between the retracted and extended positions of the hand grip. The exterior handle assembly further includes a blocking lever supported on the escutcheon for pivotal movement from an inactive position remote from the multiplier lever to an active position facing a shoulder on the multiplier lever and a spring biasing the blocking lever to its inactive position. The blocking lever has less inertia than the handle and pivots from its inactive position to its active position at the onset of a side impact on the vehicle body thereby immobilizing the multiplier and the handle before the hand grip attains its extended position.